The Rev. Johnny Savoie greeted parishioners and schoolchildren with this quiet statement Wednesday as he marked their foreheads with ashes in the shape of a cross at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Mobile.

“Lent is about humility, realizing it’s about God,” Savoie said in his sermon. He described Lent as “almost the opposite” of Advent, with Christians slowly being emptied of anything contrary to righteous living – “making room for that sense of peace and joy."

Many coastal Alabamians marked the first day of Lent 2013 on Wednesday, the beginning of the 40-plus days of prayer and fasting leading up to the celebration of Easter on March 31, in most churches. The actual number of days is 46, if you count Sundays.

“We use ashes as a sign of beginning this season because we read throughout sacred scripture that ashes were used as a sign of repentance and sorrow for sin,” said the Rev. Msgr. Stephen E. Martin, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Mobile.

Meanwhile, Mobile parishes affected by December storms held services in alternative settings. Trinity Episcopal Church, heavily damaged by a Christmas tornado, planned services Wednesday at the home of All Saints Episcopal on S. Ann Street, where they are meeting temporarily.

Members could attend either the noon service, conducted by Trinity Rector Bailey Norman, or the 6 p.m. imposition of ashes, conducted by All Saints Rector Jim Flowers and Assistant Rector Mary Robert.

“It’s a good thing to know that we can exist not just as Episcopal churches in the same city but side by side,” Robert said.

Little Flower Catholic Church, near the Loop, suffered damage to its sanctuary roof from the tornado, so parishioners gathered in the school cafeteria next door for the imposition of ashes.

With some rearranging and adding of linens, the stage had been transformed into a makeshift altar. Where lunch tables once stood, chairs were set out in rows on the tile floor. Nonetheless, the room was expected to be packed with parishioners by 5:30 p.m.

“It’s not church, but it’s the best we can do,” said the Rev. John Lynes, pastor. “We expect to be back in the sanctuary by Easter. We’re hoping to resurrect ourselves.”

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